History in the Making
by MeadowUndertown
Summary: Some things are inevitable.
1. Chapter 1

**The First time it happens**

She's not sure where it comes from, this *need* for him to touch her. She just knows she wants his hands on her body. She doesn't understand the feeling that is suddenly overwhelming her. It makes her uncomfortable. This is Hotch, her boss. Yes he's an attractive guy. Yes she's had one or two thoughts about him. But this *need,* this feeling that is slowly growing inside of her? It's confusing, distracting; it's something she really doesn't want to analyse in the middle of an interrogation. And yet it's such a powerful presence that it's overriding her focus on what is going on around her.

Ironically, it's the brush of his arm against hers that makes her realize she's dropped the ball.

Her realization however, comes too late. The UNSUB they are interrogating has a thing for brunettes, which is why she's in the interrogation room in the first place. He chooses her moment of distraction to launch himself toward her. Before she has a chance to react, Hotch has him pinned against the wall, a low growl escaping his lips.

"You go near her again, I will end your miserable life."

She's standing now, telling the officers that came bounding in that everything's fine, they're both OK. Hotch hands the UNSUB over to the detectives. Once that's done, he turns to check she's OK.

"Emily..?"

Something in the way he says her name, her given name.

She *feels* it again.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Second Time.**

She has a love/hate relationship with her cases. She loves the actual case work, chasing leads, finding the UNSUB, bringing him or her in. What she hates is the associated paper work. The endless hours spent documenting the hows and whys that led to the eventual capture of the latest whack job. But it's a part of her job too. And she loves her job.

Which is why she's currently in the conference room attaching her laptop to the big screen TV, before settling down to tackle the mound of paperwork that accumulated during their most recent case. A movie will provide welcome background noise while she works. She is just browsing through the menu, trying to decide what to watch, when she hears his voice.

"I vote for 'Alien'." She turns her head to see Hotch standing in the doorway, files in hand, with a look on his face that while familiar, seems different somehow. However, it's gone before she has a chance to decide what it was.  
"You've seen it enough times you can ignore it and actually do your reports without getting distracted. Plus," he adds with a knowing smile, "Sigourney Weaver kicks ass."

His smile, more of a smirk really, seals the deal for her. She selects the video and gestures to the chair next to her. To her pleasant surprise, he actually accepts her offer, pulling out the chair and placing his own collection of reports down on the table. He then hands her his phone.

"We're going to need food. I know for a fact you have 'Aliens' on there as well." He turns from her and opens one of the files in front of him. "The director's cut." It's subtle, but it screams how well he knows her. It makes her stomach flip.

She's confused.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Third Time**

They are all at Rossi's. Garcia talked him into hosting the "Emily's Not Dead" party. Not that it took much. Rossi loves everyone on the team like family. They all feel that way, actually. The party is Garcia's attempt to "fix" things. There's a rift in the family, and Emily knows Garcia can't rest until she's put things right. Emily isn't sure that can happen.

She didn't hurt them on purpose. She only wanted to protect them-was *trying* to protect them-but it didn't work out that way. She hurt them, and now they look at her differently. Like she isn't the Emily they once knew. But, she is! She never pretended with them. If anything, she was always honestly herself. She felt as though she belonged.

Now, however, as she smiles for the camera and laughs at the jokes, she feels like she's lying to them. She's pretending to be OK. She's pretending the whole Doyle nightmare never happened, but it did. It happened and she doesn't think she can bury it like she once did. Her famous compartmentalising skills are failing her and honestly, the longer she's there the bigger the feeling gets, until she just wants to run.

A squeal of laughter pulls her from her thoughts and, thankfully, all the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Morgan is playing with Jack and Henry and she continue's to watch as Morgan grabs Jack and is tickling the poor boy unmercifully, much to Jack's delight. She's thrilled the two boys are at the party. She remembers the time she tried to teach Jack French using his dinosaur toys. It was while Haley was still with them and she thought it was hilarious. Since then Jack seems to have put Emily in his own little category. Everyone else is 'aunt' and 'uncle' but she is just, 'Emmy.' She finds it adorable.

Then she feels his hand on her lower back, his breath in her ear as he whispers, "He's going to want you to save him." A sudden rush of emotions fight for her attention, but before she has a chance to process them she hears Jack's voice.

"EMMMMMYYYYY".

It leaves her more than frustrated.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Fourth Time**

They're all in Philadelphia. It's been a few intense days. Several women, including a police officer, have been abducted, raped, tortured, and killed. The lieutenant on the case has admitted he's in over his head and called the BAU for help. They spend the first couple days interviewing the victims' families and associates, as well as going over the investigating detectives' reports. Based on these, they develop a profile which they share with the local police. It points to an intelligent, well organized man with a predilection for brunettes who are successful, career driven women in their late-thirties. What they don't share with the local police is that the profile also indicates a professional, and probably a police officer.

They catch a break when the ever resourceful Penelope Garcia does background checks on the associates. Officer Allan, the dead officer's former partner, fits the profile. Garcia's background checks show abuse suffered from his mother that somehow the previous investigations missed. And the stressor? His partner. She made detective before he did and according to their interviews, she apparently rebuffed several personal advances from him as well. But that's not evidence; it's only rumors and hearsay.

They need something solid, they decide to set a honey trap. Even before they start discussing it, Emily can see what's coming. The profile screams that she could be one of those women up on the white board. A year ago she wouldn't have cared; she'd have volunteered without a second thought. But that was before Doyle. She would like to believe it's just her but when Morgan makes an off-handed comment about her being a good actress, she closes her eyes, shakes her head and trys to dismiss the gut wrenching feeling his words evoke. She, and the rest of the team, understand what he's getting at. Her time undercover with Doyle has never sat well with them.

She feels more than sees Hotch come up beside her. He places his hand on her lower back, a gesture she's come to rely on over the past year. But this time, it makes her breath catch in her throat. She hasn't realized until just now how much support and safety his presence gives her. She feels her spine stiffen a little more, a retort to Morgan on the tip of her tongue but, before she can say it, Hotch speaks. She all but FEELS the growl in his voice as he pointedly tells Morgan,

"Emily isn't the only one who's good at acting on this team."

It's a low blow to all of them, but she can't bring herself to feel guilty about it. She didn't intentionally lie to them all. She was ordered to, and she's apologized, a thousand times and more. But then Hotch takes her elbow, pulls her to one side, and tells her he'll be the one with her.

It makes her smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Fifth Time.**

They spend some time considering where the ruse should be staged. A local coffee shop, the parking lot and even the back alley are put across as ideas but quickly dismissed. It's Rossi's observation about the UNSUB's state of mind that has everyone agreeing that a blatant, in your face, disregard for the rules display is what's going to get Allan to react. They decide to stage it within the precinct itself. After that, it's just a matter of making necessary arrangements with the lieutenant.

Hotch has her against the wall, his hand on her rib cage. He's so close she can smell him, feel the heat radiating from him and his breath tickling her neck as he pretends to be whispering something in her ear. Her head is bent, her eyes closed, and she's starting to think having Hotch with her for this was a terribly bad idea. And then he moves, his body coming closer. His right hand lands on the wall next to her head as his left slides down from her waist to her hip, pulling her closer. She gasps, shivers and looks up. He's watching her, and there's something in the intensity of his stare. It makes her want to reach for him, so she does, her left hand coming up and resting on his chest. She fists her hand in his shirt when she feels him squeeze her hip. She leans toward him but before her lips can touch his all hell breaks loose.

Allan has attacked and Hotch has him on the floor, nose bloody. She's still leaning against the wall, her gun raised and pointed at Allan, as the rest of the team come running from around the corner, weapons at the ready. She sees Dave help Hotch up, hears Morgan as he cuffs Allan, reads him his rights, and throws in a 'son of a bitch' for good measure. JJ is at her side asking if she's OK, all she can do is nod and tell her she's fine. Her eyes never leaving the brown orbs staring back at her. It's with a heart stopping, panic inducing thought that she realizes, he knows. Hotch *knows*.

She wants to run.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Sixth Time.**

Making tea is a thing she started doing after the whole Doyle mess. It usually relaxes her, but tonight it's just not working. After the stint in Philadelphia she can't ignore the fact she crossed a line with Hotch. OK, so they didn't do anything, yet the potential to do something was definitely there. Shit, she almost kissed him. She wants to scream.

Music. Music, a shower, and a switch from tea to wine. Maybe that'll get him out of her head and help her start feeling more like herself.

She's walking down the stairs in her favorite bathrobe, toweling her hair and wondering which bottle of red she is going to open, when she feels him. His presence is palpable. She doesn't need to lift her eyes to know he's there, but she does it anyway. Their eyes meet. Her heart stops. She can't breathe, she can't think, she's not sure how to react. She's surprised anything intelligible emerges from her mouth.

"Hotch?"

He's just stood there, casually leaning against the back of her couch. Shirt sleeves rolled up, hands in pockets, ankles crossed, as though he has all the time in the world. She feels naked under his gaze. Since her return to the team, he's gained the disconcerting ability to see exactly what she doesn't want him or anyone to see. It makes her feel vulnerable, and now is no exception.

Her whole body goosebumps.


	7. Chapter 7

He sees her shock. He can't blame her for it, he has no idea what he's doing himself. But he can't ignore what happened now that he knows she feels something too. After the take down he'd wanted to talk to her, tell her how he felt, but the sheriff had pulled him into a briefing he really didn't want to attend. He'd spent most of the meeting remembering the moment he felt her shiver, heard her breath catch. The look in her eyes as she leaned up and towards him.

His lips tingle with the kiss he is sure was about to happen.

Now he's here, in her apartment. She's wearing the fluffy bath robe Garcia bought her for her last birthday, her hair is still wet and the smell of vanilla fills the air. He suddenly realises that the scent has become permanently associated with her in his mind. He doesn't think he can speak, doesn't think he can tell her all the thoughts in his head, his heart. He just has to touch her.

So he does.

He's moving toward her, his hands emerging from his trouser pockets. She has to admit, he looks sexy as hell, she's both terrified and thrilled. Before she can process further, he's there in front of her. She wants to say something, ask him why, but she already knows. She's given herself away.

His hand on her face brings her back to the present. His thumb traces a line across her cheek, and she closes her eyes and sighs quietly. His other hand comes to rest on her waist before sliding to her hip and pulling her toward him. Her eyes snap open as she feels him against her. She finds his eyes and sees more than attraction there. It's supposed to just be tension, damn it, but the look in his eyes tells her it's so much more.

It makes her heart beat faster.

The hand on her face moves into her hair and pulls. Her mouth opens; she wonders if it's in protest or encouragement. She answers her own question as his name emerges as a throaty whisper.

"Aaron?"

His lips collide with hers as if wanting to taste the sound of his name.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Seventh Inning Stretch  
**

Her back hits the wall with a thump, but all she can think about is the hand that is slipping inside her robe. It's cold against her skin as it rests against her hip; she feels goose bumps appear on her flesh and she shivers in response. He pulls her lower half towards him, her robe slips open, her naked body exposed as he leans into her.

She shivers again, but for an entirely different reason.

The feel of her has his head spinning. He has one hand in her hair and the other on her hip but it's not enough - he needs more. The buttons on his shirt are suddenly gone, the cool air hitting his bare chest. He's not thinking, not really, after so long he just needs to touch her.

Which he does.

He lifts her, feeling her legs wrap around his waist as he moves away from the wall.

"Aaron," she breathes.

Gods, he's already addicted to the way his name sounds when she says it like that. He's pulling the robe off her as they fall onto the bed. She giggles, he laughs, her hands move towards his trousers. He's kicking his shoes and socks off as she's undoing his belt; he can smell her. He needs to taste her.

So he does.

Her body arches when she feels his mouth on her, his tongue slipping inside.

"Oh gods!"

Her hands grip the bedsheets beneath her. She can already feel the pressure building and she doesn't even try to stop it. She feels her legs close round him, feels her hips arch, her body break out into sweat. She buries her head in the pillow beneath her. She shouts, gods all she wants is him inside her. Now. She reaches for him, pulls him up and over her, grips him and guides him into her.

Jesus.

He bites her neck as he enters her; he can't help it. He's too caught up in the feel of her. She's tight, wet, and the noise she makes has him growling as he tilts her hips and fucks her. He'd be more concerned about being so rough if she wasn't mewling, clenching and biting his arm. One of her hands grips his shoulder while the other tries to grip his hair, but he's moving his mouth from her neck to her breast and she's having difficulty keeping hold. He brings his head up from biting her breast and all she can do is shout and arch into the movement. As he's about to kiss her, their eyes lock and all he can think is,

"she's mine."

She'd kick his ass, or blow him while handcuffed, if she knew what he was thinking. If the smirk she gives him just before he starts to move is any indication, he's going to be wearing those cuffs sooner rather than later.

He has no objection.


	9. Chapter 9

**She's Lost Count.**

She's standing in front of the mirror and despite the words of her family - Garcia's praise, JJ's hugs, Morgan and Reid's "you look beautiful" - she can't help but feel as though she needs to walk away. To protect him. She's not good enough. She's flawed. He deserves more. He and Jack both deserve someone who has less baggage than Dulles airport, more freckles on her body than she does scars. Someone who can look at a situation and see a happy ending.

She's starting to panic and actually see the window as a viable escape option when she feels his presence. His arms wrap around her, coming to rest on her stomach. His lips brush her neck.

"Breathe," he whispers.

She does. All she can smell, all she can feel is him. He kisses, nips, and bites her neck, making her smile.

"Thank you."

She watches his reflection pull away and turns to face him. He's got that smirk on his face that usually makes her grin, but now it makes her want to slap him. He kisses her temple, smacks her ass and as he walks towards the door he says,

"You better be ready, Prentiss. I didn't take the day off for nothing."

She barks out a laugh and just like that, all her worries disappear. She's right where she is supposed to be. No, more than that, she's right where she wants to be.

She hears a cough. It's Rossi, leaning against the door frame, smiling, hands in his pockets.

"Ready, Bella?"

It's a loaded question and she knows it.

She closes her eyes. She thinks about the first time Hotch made her tingle. The first time he made her stomach jump, her heart flutter, her mind stumble. The first time he held her face, kissed her lips. The first time they snuggled on the couch with Jack watching Disney. When they made a mess in the kitchen making father's day cookies. When she told Jack to pull funny faces on all his pictures and the school got in touch. When she had a bad day. When she'd had all her bad days. He didn't walk away. He hadn't left her alone. He had been there.

They're at the top of the aisle now. She looks up, catches his eyes and knows.

He isn't going anywhere and neither is she.

They were inevitable.


End file.
